PlanetPhillip http://www.planetphillip.com Finishing Half-Life is just the beginning! Thu, 17 May 2012 10:08:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Copyright © PlanetPhillip 2011 planetphillip@gmail.com (Phillip Marlowe) planetphillip@gmail.com (Phillip Marlowe) podcasts 1440 http://www.planetphillip.com/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/144-pp-podcasts-logo.jpg PlanetPhillip http://www.planetphillip.com 144 144 http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/category/articles/podcasts/feed/ PlanetPhillip.Com Podcasts Finishing Half-Life is just the beginning! Source, Mods, PlanetPhillip, Valve Phillip Marlowe Phillip Marlowe planetphillip@gmail.com no no DoorVille – Half-Life 2: Ep2 http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/doorville-half-life-2-ep2/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/doorville-half-life-2-ep2/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 14:59:26 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9443 Single Player Maps and Mods for all Half-Life games DoorVille is the first in a series of 6 mapping competitions lasting ten days each. The objective was to select ANY locked door from HL2, Ep1 or Ep2 and give the player a chance to find out what's behind it. Locked doors are a very important part of all Half-Life games. They control the player's flow through a level. Sometimes they tease you with a glimpse behind some glass, other times you hear sounds, but in all cases they are telling you "You are not wanted here!" Well, not that is changed. Dare you find out what's behind the door?]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/doorville-half-life-2-ep2/feed/ 28 Giveaway: The Tunnelers http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/giveaway-the-tunnelers/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/giveaway-the-tunnelers/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 13:10:22 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9441 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 A few weeks ago I was contacted by Joe Hunter, who made Smart Decoy. We chatted about the mod and the modding scene "back in the day". Naturally I asked what he was doing now and was pleasantly surprised to hear that has made a free online top-down MMO action shooter called Tunnelers. Not only does it look pretty damn cool but it's actually free to play. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so the video below must be worth at least 10,000! ]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/giveaway-the-tunnelers/feed/ 0 Display Format Options http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/display-format-options/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/display-format-options/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 09:35:17 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9439 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for all Half-Life gamesYou may have noticed that there is a new design for some of the site. I have worked on creating some new display options when viewing the content. In most case, you can now view the maps and mods (and other content too) in three ways: excerpts, thumbnails and lists. The video below explains those three options and the benefits of each. ]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/display-format-options/feed/ 0 Introducing the Personalizer! http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/introducing-the-personalizer/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/introducing-the-personalizer/#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 09:00:01 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9278 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3Although this is a few weeks old now, I decided to make a video tutorial of how to use the Personalizer and how to get the kind of results that will interest you. Below is that video! ]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/introducing-the-personalizer/feed/ 7 Croman’s Office Mappack – Half-Life http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/cromans-office-mappack-half-life/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/cromans-office-mappack-half-life/#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 10:41:59 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9436 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Starting in a small office you must keep moving in the hope of finding an escape route. Moving forward is actually the hardest part in this mappack, as you way is contantly blocked and you must solve the "puzzles" to move on.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/cromans-office-mappack-half-life/feed/ 16 Poll Question 274 – Will Steam sales eventually back fire? http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-274/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-274/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 06:28:14 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=8325 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Back in October 2011, I read this article called How Valve experiments with the economics of video games posted on GeekWire. I wanted to write something about it but one thing got on top of another and I completely forgot about it, that was until two other articles appeared, one of which I currently can't find link to, about Valve pricing policies.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-274/feed/ 9 Feature Flip: Reviewed or Not Reviewed http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/feature-flip-reviewed-or-not-reviewed/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/feature-flip-reviewed-or-not-reviewed/#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 14:15:00 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9429 Reviewed or Not Reviewed feature now available on PP. Sound is out on the webcam, sorry.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/feature-flip-reviewed-or-not-reviewed/feed/ 22 Strange Soap – Portal 2 http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/strange-soap-portal-2/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/strange-soap-portal-2/#comments Sun, 06 May 2012 08:27:52 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9424 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 A simple chamber, with a few solutions. Use the Light Bridge to gain access to various switches. How fast can you do it?]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/strange-soap-portal-2/feed/ 3 Audio Interview with Yves Richard http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/audio-interview-with-yves-richard/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/audio-interview-with-yves-richard/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 12:26:06 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9417 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Today I managed to spend some time with Yves Richard AKA Richman, the author of Hazardous Course 2 amongst others and we chatted about the mod and its difficulty etc. We also talked about the kind of Half-Life players left around and the problems of mapping for Source. Yves said he would drop by, so if you have any questions, please feel free to post them as comments and hopefully he can answer them.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/audio-interview-with-yves-richard/feed/ 6 0:33:58 Today I managed to spend some time with Yves Richard AKA Richman, the author of Hazardous Course 2 amongst others and we chatted about the mod and its difficulty etc. We also talked about the kind of Half-Life players left around and the proble[...] Today I managed to spend some time with Yves Richard AKA Richman, the author of Hazardous Course 2 amongst others and we chatted about the mod and its difficulty etc. We also talked about the kind of Half-Life players left around and the problems of mapping for Source. Yves said he would drop by, so if you have any questions, please feel free to post them as comments and hopefully he can answer them. Source, Mods, PlanetPhillip, Valve Phillip Marlowe no no Viscerator Control Room – Half-Life 2: Ep2 http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/viscerator-control-room-half-life-2-ep2/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/viscerator-control-room-half-life-2-ep2/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 11:05:58 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9411 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 You are stuck. Stuck in a room with no obvious escape. That is until you realize you can remotely control a manhack. Use the manhack and external cameras to release yourself.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/viscerator-control-room-half-life-2-ep2/feed/ 7 Poll Question 273 – Will you try the new Portal 2: Perpetual Testing Initiative? http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-273/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-273/#comments Sat, 05 May 2012 09:47:05 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9412 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Five years ago I wrote an article called Hammer Made Easy, asking for more or less what Valve are releasing in a few days. I don't claim to have been the first to ask for it, and definitely not the last, but it's pretty damn cool to see it finally arrive. The biggest problem will be finding the good ones to play and I am sure some gems will be overlooked.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-273/feed/ 8 Half-Life: Ops – Half-Life http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/half-life-ops-half-life/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/half-life-ops-half-life/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 09:30:38 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9298 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 A series of short missions, each with its own gameplay style. A tactical assault, a box-moving puzzle area, a parachute drop, another tactical assault and finally an arena-style mission. It's tough, so be prepared for a difficult 30 minutes of playing.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/half-life-ops-half-life/feed/ 9 Maunsell Sea Forts – Real Theme http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maunsell-sea-forts-real-theme/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maunsell-sea-forts-real-theme/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 07:37:26 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9295 Single Player Maps and Mods for all Half-Life games The Maunsell Forts were built during the Second World War to help protect the UK from air and sea attack. They were small fortified towers built in the Thames and Mersey estuaries. As much as they are very interesting, visually, architecturally and historically, I don' think you should rushing to copy them. For me, the most useful aspect is one of inspiration.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maunsell-sea-forts-real-theme/feed/ 4 Text Interview with MyoHyo http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/text-interview-with-myohyo/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/text-interview-with-myohyo/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:23:49 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9291 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I am very pleased to say that I finally managed to finish the mod and therefore conclude the interview. I am sure there were a lot more questions I could have asked but I didn't want to press my luck. Allow me to thank MyoHyo for responding so quickly to the questions.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/text-interview-with-myohyo/feed/ 10 Space Lasercore – Half-Life http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/space-lasercore-half-life/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/space-lasercore-half-life/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:03:46 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9289 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 You must attack a moon base. Destroy the lasercore, kill the enemies but you MUST keep Barney and the scientist alive! Then escape, or do you?]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/space-lasercore-half-life/feed/ 16 MapTap 2.1 Now Available http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maptap-2-1-now-available/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maptap-2-1-now-available/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 08:15:43 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9284 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 MapTap 2.1 Now Available This release contains a new feature. The file and right-click menu item now has a link to "Open review page". This will search PP and open the post of the map you have highlighted. It should work perfectly, but if you have any issues, please let me know via Email. In addition, this release gives the column widths better spacing. Current MapTap users should be notified of the update the next time they start the application.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maptap-2-1-now-available/feed/ 3 Departure – Half-Life 2: Ep2 http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/departure-half-life-2-ep2/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/departure-half-life-2-ep2/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 07:21:05 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9282 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Refuge in your apartment is no longer an option. It's time to flee. But not quietly out the back, oh no! Go out with all guns blazing. Reach the port and you may finally find freedom.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/departure-half-life-2-ep2/feed/ 9 G-String: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/g-string-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/g-string-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 06:13:33 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9280 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I'm torn. Torn between incredible admiration for such amazing work and frustration & disappointment with the outcome. I started to write an article about how I felt G-String was bad for the community but then I realised that only presenting the negative aspects was unfair.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/g-string-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/feed/ 14 Poll Question 272 – Which would you prefer to see in a new SP mod? http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-272/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-272/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:46:29 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9271 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 When you have played as many SP maps and mods as I have, and many of you have, then most of them just blend into one forgettable mix. That's not to say I didn't enjoy them at the time or they weren't fun to play, it's just that there's not enough difference between them.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-272/feed/ 12 Irreality – Half-Life http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/irreality-half-life/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/irreality-half-life/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:43:54 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9276 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Caught in some sort of temporal and dimensional gateway, you must use logic and care to escape. What seems obvious at first may not be what you think it is. Your world is about to get turned upside down and inside out!]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/irreality-half-life/feed/ 8 How much interaction within games do we actually need? http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/how-much-interaction-within-games-do-we-actually-need/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/how-much-interaction-within-games-do-we-actually-need/#comments Sat, 28 Apr 2012 08:27:39 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=8320 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I think we would all agree that as games have progressed, so has the amount of interaction between the player and the game. In Half-Life 1, you could push creates around, shoot shit, press buttons, open doors and had interaction with the environment.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/how-much-interaction-within-games-do-we-actually-need/feed/ 4 Residual Life – Half-Life http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/residual-life-half-life/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/residual-life-half-life/#comments Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:34:43 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9192 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 You play a scientist going about his day as Black Mesa suddenly becomes infested with aliens. Find any weapons you can and try to reach the surface. Watch out for enemies, they come from all around you! Good Luck.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/residual-life-half-life/feed/ 56 7 Things I wish Steam would allow me to do http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/7-things-i-wish-steam-would-allow-me-to-do/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/7-things-i-wish-steam-would-allow-me-to-do/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:13:07 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9188 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I love Steam. Really, even from the beginning and Valve are always updating and improving it but I just wish I could sit down with the guy/gal or team behind the user experience and chat with them. I am sure they know how much more it could be and they have a planned improvement programme but I just want to have a few things now. So, here are 7 Things I wish Steam would allow me to do. Don't forget to add your own in the comments.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/7-things-i-wish-steam-would-allow-me-to-do/feed/ 20 Poll Question 271 – Should modders give weapons or ammo first? http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-271/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-271/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:13:45 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9170 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I was playing a mod this morning and found ammo before I got any weapons. My first thought was to go back and look again, which is exactly what I did. I spent, or wasted!, 5 minutes retracing my steps.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-271/feed/ 12 The more we play, the less we love? http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/the-more-we-play-the-less-we-love/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/the-more-we-play-the-less-we-love/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:12:12 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=8262 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3Okay, I'll be honest here, I'm not exactly sure I know what I am trying to say with this article, so I'll just write what I think I mean and see what happens. A little while ago, I watched a TV show and somebody said something like... "Studies have shown that the more sexual partners you have, the less happy you are with your final partner".]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/the-more-we-play-the-less-we-love/feed/ 7 MapTap 2 Now Available http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maptap-2-now-available/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maptap-2-now-available/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:00:50 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9171 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I am pleased to announce that the next version of MapTap is now available.
It has the following new features:
  • A built in browser, allowing you find files and use them directly within the app.
  • Support of most Half-Life 1 maps. Some may not work, but most should
  • A "favourite" feature, to allow you to favourite maps, making them easier to find
  • An "Open the folder" feature, making it easy to view any ReadMe or screenshots
There's a few other little things, but those are the ones that count.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/maptap-2-now-available/feed/ 10 The 6×10 Mapping Competitions Event http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/the-6x10-mapping-competitions-event/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/the-6x10-mapping-competitions-event/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:56:22 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9163 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I am pleased to announce the 6x10 Mapping Competitions Event. This is a mapping Competition Event that will run through the Summer and in Autumn. Here are the highlights:]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/the-6x10-mapping-competitions-event/feed/ 8 Announcing the Display Matrix and Other Stuff http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/announcing-the-display-matrix-and-other-stuff/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/announcing-the-display-matrix-and-other-stuff/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 13:53:12 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9161 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 I am pleased to announce a few new features on the site. The main one is the Display Matrix, whose purpose to to help readers find new and interesting content.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/announcing-the-display-matrix-and-other-stuff/feed/ 2 Poll Question 270 – Are you a big-mod snob? http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-270/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-270/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 09:40:29 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9034 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Here is a question for you. Are you a big mod snob? I have a feeling that many of you are. You "look down" on anything that's not longer than 60 minutes with derision.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/poll-question-270/feed/ 23 Rescue in Ravenholm – Half-Life 2: Ep2 http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/rescue-in-ravenholm-half-life-2-ep2/ http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/rescue-in-ravenholm-half-life-2-ep2/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 09:10:00 +0000 planetphillip http://www.planetphillip.com/?p=9167 Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half-Life 1, 2 and Episodes 1, 2 and 3 Alyx needs your help. She is on the ground floor of a building and you are stuck on the first floor walkway. You can open doors and power a couple of traps. Use the resources to guide her through until you can meet up. Be careful though, you both have to fend off attackers.]]> http://www.planetphillip.com/posts/rescue-in-ravenholm-half-life-2-ep2/feed/ 9